Monday, 30 October 2017

A while ago i was commissioned to make some projects for a sweet little book designed as a cover gift for issue 41 of pretty patches magazine, out now...........it was to be called made with love and there was also to be a reel of pretty ribbon printed with those words too as part of the gift......such a sweet idea.....

.............i made a little doll, a patchwork cushion and a pretty house decoration.......the projects are still with the magazine but i will photograph them when they come back......the little doll is pictured here on my work table when i had just finished sewing her...... and below in the little book.....

.............part of the project involved me taking step photographs and you have to remember not to sew too fast and miss out picturing each step.....below are the doll's arms, legs and head ready for turning prior to stuffing with toy filling......

.............i am fond of this little doll pattern and plan to make some more versions soon....

............most of the things i make are made with love....either for the person i plan to gift it to or for the love of crafting and creativity itself.....working with beautiful fabrics and seeing pretty things emerge on my crafting table makes me very happy......

.............the ribbon inspired me to make some pincushions as gifts for stitching friends and to add strips of the ribbon on the back...

................below is a something i have been knitting for a sweet newborn.....our younger daughter and her husband have a gorgeous new baby boy called louis and i knitted these bootees for him.....

.................every stitch was made with love.........

................the pattern is from the knitter's year book by debbie bliss and the yarn is baby cashmerino.......these little red and white bootees are so cute........i am making some blue and white ones too....

.............i also made a v stitch crochet baby blanket for louis to snuggle up in......

..........it is lovely to welcome a new grandchild into the world and to see rhys with his new baby brother............happy times and counting blessings.........

..............a pink pumpkin was added to my pumpkin harvest last week......now we are nearing the end of october and the pumpkins will be put away for another year.........

.................the susie watson spotty jug is perfect for the garden posy this week............

................my blog is a bit late this week as i was at my eldest daughter's house.....cake baking and decorating was going on ........and then we just had to try a piece...........

.................here are some more teeny tiny pumpkins this time in more traditional autumn shades.....

..............last week we went on a trip to manchester and i took some pictures in whitworth park....we went into the art gallery and below is a collage of the café in the trees there....such a wonderful atmosphere.....(click on the picture to enlarge it)..........

..............this week is another busy one for me and it is full of fun things to do with my dearies.....soon i will have to get on with my work again but it is nice to have a little break and some precious family time now and then......

................thank you so much for dropping in here to see me dear readers and for the sweet comments you leave me......it is always a pleasure to hear from you.......i hope you are having happy autumn days and lots of crafty inspirations too................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Monday, 16 October 2017

Here is another of my works in progress having some more work done on it this autumn.....this is the red and white lone star quilt i began some time ago.....

...............i love red and white quilts so much and have always wanted to make a lone star one.....

.............this is what i hope it will look like when finished..........i was super inspired by the book below.......lone star quilt patterns are one of the most recognisable designs and they have several different names.....an early name used here in england was the mathematical quilt and they are also known as the star of bethlehem.........

............to make it as accurate as possible i am sewing this quilt by english paper piecing it which works best for me........apparently these quilt tops are often found in antique shops unfinished because they 'went wrong' and became puckered and wouldn't lie flat when spread out :(......

.............i love looking at the graphic effect as the pattern emerges.......

..............at the moment the quilt in progress is on the sofa arm, and every night i add a few more diamonds......last night i sewed some while watching *victoria*......

..............here are some new pumpkins for my autumn decorating..........

..............in keeping with the red and white theme here today............

...............and below is my project in the latest issue of crafts beautiful magazine...full of christmas makes and inspiration the november issue is out now...........you can read more here.....

...............in my studio i have added some autumn decorations to my little cupboard.........

............the weather has been beautiful here, sunny and warm with gorgeous autumn colours everywhere and blue skies....but today it has become very blustery and there is a storm brewing....

..............time to get tucked up with my sewing, light the fire and the candles and keep cosy.....

.................thank you so much for visiting me here in my bit of blog land dear readers and a big thank you to those of you who take the time to comment...i do love to hear from you......wishing you a happy week ahead filled with peaceful times and plenty of crafty inspirations....and take care in the stormy weather everyone......back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Monday, 9 October 2017

The autumn season is inspiring a lot of my makes this year..........here is a pink pumpkin autumn coaster made with the lovely lecien flower sugar charm pack i showed here last time...........

.............as well as this little applique pumpkin project i have made another squashy fabric pumpkin to add to the harvest.............

...............the garden is full of tiny toadstools and mushrooms as well as autumn flowers and berries to inspire and to enjoy in this pretty vintage jam jar in the house.............

............the berries are so plentiful here that people are predicting a hard winter.......

...............i've always loved autumn walks and finding acorns and conkers....and i still do...it is fun to crunch through the autumn leaves with my grandchildren now as they find the same treasures too....

..............the garden is also full of spider's webs....i found one thin line of spider web stretched across a narrow path from one plant to another, and with a golden leaf caught on it like a little washing line....how does that happen?.......the wonders of nature.............

...............sewing lots of small projects with nature's colours....above is a newly opened charm pack of bonnie and camille basics..........and below is the pumpkin pillow i made for my book *modern vintage gifts*..........

..............each day i explore the garden to see what treasures there are............

..............just like the school nature table i loved as a child, i like to spread out the finds and examine the different flowers and berries, seeds and fruits..........

...........my finishing of works in progress is continuing and i am pleased to say that the million ends on the v stitch crochet blanket have now all been sewn in and i am on to the border :).......

.............the border is a simple one repeating the stripe colour order but in double crochet.......

..........and at the top some little tulips appeared all by themselves :) ......

..............thank you for dropping by dear readers and for your kind comments.........it is lovely to see old friends and new here and i do appreciate hearing from you ..........wishing you a wonderful week ahead with happy days and cosy nights and lots of crafty inspirations..................back soon xxxxxxxx

my new book

about me

I am a designer, author, illustrator, stitcher and I just love crafting and making things. I live on the North West coast of England with my lovely husband. My family mean the world to me - I have two amazing grown up daughters and three sweet grandchildren - two boys and a girl.